In recent years, thermal transfer systems have been developed to obtain prints from pictures that have been generated from a camera or scanning device. According to one way of obtaining such prints, an electronic picture is first subjected to color separation by color filters. The respective color-separated images are then converted into electrical signals. These signals are then transmitted to a thermal printer. To obtain the print, a cyan, magenta or yellow dye-donor element is placed face-to-face with a dye receiver element. The two are then inserted between a thermal printing head and a platen roller. A line-type thermal printing head is used to apply heat from the back of the dye-donor sheet. The thermal printing head has many heating elements and is heated up sequentially in response to one of the cyan, magenta or yellow signals. The process is then repeated for the other colors. A color hard copy is thus obtained which corresponds to the original picture viewed on a screen.
Dye receiver elements used in thermal dye transfer generally include a support (transparent or reflective) bearing on one side thereof a dye image-receiving layer, and optionally additional layers, such as a compliant or cushioning layer between the support and the dye receiving layer. The compliant layer provides insulation to keep heat generated by the thermal head at the surface of the print, and also provides close contact between the donor ribbon and receiving sheet which is essential for uniform print quality.
U.S. Patent Application Publications 2010/0327480 and 2010/0330306 (both Dontula et al.) describe imaging elements having multiple extruded layers included extruded compliant and antistatic subbing layers. U.S. Patent Application Publication 2008/0220190 (Majumdar et al.) describes image recording elements comprising a support having thereon an aqueous subbing layer and an extruded dye receiving layer.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2011/0091667 (Majumdar et al.) describes thermal dye transfer receiver elements that include an extruded compliant layer and an antistatic layer adhering it to an image receiving layer.
As the popularity of multicolor thermal dye images has increased, there has been an interest in providing images with increased specular reflectance or to provide a metallic luster or brightness to enhance color, design, or decoration.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,291,150 (Camp et al.) describes reflective photographic materials having metallic layers below the photographic imaging layers to give the image “depth” or to make it appear to have three dimensions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,719 (Jongewaard et al.) describes thermal transfer receptor element having a vapor deposited metal layer, non-opacifying primer layer, and a thermal dye receiving layer. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 7,479,470 (Hiroishi et al.) describes a thermal transfer receiver having a metal layer disposed between the support and an underlayer that may include a pigment such as titanium oxide or barium sulfate.
JP Patent Application Publication 2009-154399 (Oji Paper Co. Ltd.) describes a heat transfer receiving sheet having an intermediate layer and a metal-deposited layer between the intermediate layer and an image receptor layer.
However, if the thickness of the metallic layer is too great, a printed image has reduced sharpness and lowered density. Thus, despite the various embodiments known in the art, there is a need to improve thermal dye image receiver elements that have metallic layers so that reflectance is improved without loss of other image properties. It is also desired to provide such images on both sides of a duplex receiver element.